


A Light In Dark Places (Rewrite)

by ThatDamnKennedyKid



Series: Worth Fighting For [5]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, F/M, M/M, Parent/Child Incest, Past Child Abuse, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Rape Recovery, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-06
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2020-01-05 21:52:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18374783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDamnKennedyKid/pseuds/ThatDamnKennedyKid
Summary: Konohagakure has existed since ancient times, and it's secret existence is closely guarded by its citizens. With his father removed from the position as clan head by the Hokage, Itachi takes over the Uchiha clan and immerses himself in the world that saved him from the horrors back home.However, circumventing her abusive husband, Mikoto calls Itachi back home one more time to save his younger brother from the same fate.





	1. No More

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to rewrite this fic because the original started with one intention and ended with another. I'm also a better writer now, so there's that.

She was biting her nails, sitting on edge in the kitchen. She'd told Madara when he picked up the phone that their window was limited. Fugaku would be back any moment at this rate.

She jolted when a gentle knock sounded at the front door, then rushed over. She threw it open, finding Madara's sympathetic gaze staring back at her. 

"I've come with orders." He said by way of explanation. "Itachi wants you both gone."

She startled. "I can't leave. He'll believe that Sasuke ran away, but not me. I've- been here too long."

"He thought the same about Itachi." Madara replied, stepping up to wrap her up in a hug. "Trust me."

She took a shuddering breath and nodded against his chest. Fugaku was the terror, not his brothers. Madara and Izuna had been unable to intervene, but they had helped as much as they could. She knew they were the reason Itachi was given over to the ANBU, why he'd gone away and subsequently overtaken Fugaku's position. She didn't know much about the running of the Clans anymore, and it had been years since she'd laid eyes on the Hokage or his wife, but she remembered the steel of Kushina and the velvet-lined sharpness of Minato. 

"What do you need me to do?"

"Tobirama is waiting outside in a grey car. You're to go with him and follow his instructions. Do everything he says, do not argue."

It took her a moment - what use would she have to disobey orders to secure her safety? - when it dawned on her what they were doing. "You're keeping Sasuke here and sending me back the Village."

"Yes." He replied sympathetically. "It is best for you if you return home, and for Sasuke to recover here. He doesn't know a world outside of this one and Fugaku can't enter the Village anymore."

"I need to stay with my son! It's bad enough I let Itachi suffer alone when I should have noticed, but I can help Sasuke-"

"Mikoto, you're a ranking Uchiha." He stepped back to meet her gaze, to drive his point home. "Itachi's word is your law. Mother or not."

She wanted to cry, possibly scream and rage, but a small, sad part of her that had shattered when she found out exactly what Fugaku had done to Itachi was resigned to how this was going to go. She also knew her family - if she wouldn't move, she would be moved. Itachi's word was their law too.

"Please, make sure he knows I didn't abandon him." She felt her heart break again - a mother unable to protect either of her children from their own father. "Please, Madara."

"Of course. I'm sure Itachi will make sure he doesn't hate you for it." He stepped aside, clearing the door. "Now go. You don't have a lot of time before Fugaku returns and the house needs to be empty."

She wiped her eyes and nodded. "Do I need to get anything?"

"No. Itachi's already taken care of it. Tobirama will help you."

"Thank you. And take care of my boys for me."

He nodded solemnly. "Always, as though they were my own."

She walked out, finding Tobirama parked on the curb. He smiled gently at here when she got in and didn't push her as they drove away. In the rearview mirror, she watched as Obito walked Sasuke's unconscious body out into a waiting SUV and Hashirama began treating his wounds. 

"You must have faith in Itachi." Tobirama said quietly, reaching over to squeeze her thigh. "Minato also approved this."

She swallowed back the tears and tore her gaze away from her house, the place she'd called home and the roof under which her Sasuke had taken his first steps. She knew she wasn't going to miss it - or Fugaku, for that matter, not anymore - but knowing that her sons were so far beyond her reach and beyond what meagre help she could offer hurt more than any of the times her husband had laid into her with words and fists. 

"I'm going back to the Village, right? All the way?"

"Yes. You'll be living in the Clan House. Itachi's already sent orders and Minato's authorized your return, just in case."

She took a deep breath. "Am I allowed to govern the grounded family in his stead?"

Tobirama's lips quirked up. "Yes. Itachi actually asked me to ask you. He doesn't make it back as often as he should."

"I will be his governess, then." She sat back in the seat and let the tears fall, but kept the sobs inside. She'd been weak long enough. 

* * *

Sasuke awoke feeling better than he had in the better part of two years. The room he was in was styled traditionally, as were the clothes he was in and the tatami he was laying on. 

"Hello?" He croaked. 

The door slid open and Obito entered, his fiance Rin close on his heels. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"A little stiff." He replied. "And thirsty."

Obito went over to a sink and grabbed a glass, filling it, while Rin came and knelt beside him. 

"I need you to answer some questions for me, and answer them honestly." She implored, her gaze soft but steely. 

He guzzled the water, then nodded to her. "Okay."

"Obito, please leave us." 

"Right. Give me a shout if you need me." He obediently left - Rin'd had him whipped since they were kids - then Rin's focus was on him entirely. 

"What do you recall Fugaku doing to you?"

"I'm sorry?"

"When he would attack you, what do you recall him doing?"

"He, uh, hit me, mostly. Why?"

"I'll explain in a moment. What did he hit you with?"

"Usually his fists. Sometimes he'd kick me. He broke my rib a few days ago, actually-" He dropped a hand down to his side, not feeling the broken bone anymore. 

"I know. We fixed what damage we could find, but I need to know if there were other, less prominent things he did to you. Did he make you eat toxic plants? Did he starve you or deny you water? Did he lock you up in a confined space? Did he force you to have sex with him or others?"

He very, very abruptly felt like vomiting. He managed not to, but the world was greying. Rin caught him and eased him back down onto the pillows. 

"Sasuke, can I have your permission to do a full-body check?"

"Sure." 

He felt some tingling in his chest, then he promptly passed out. 

* * *

The house was empty. 

The house was  _fucking empty_. 

All of the things were still there, from the dishes in the sink to the clothes in the dryer. But  _they_ were gone. 

"I'm going to kill that little son of a bitch." He hissed, smashing through everything he could find. He locked gazes with a picture of his eldest, looking stoic and cold. "You. You did this. Usurped my position, stole my family. I'm going to make you wish you were dead."

 

 


	2. Moderation

When Sasuke was young, maybe five, their father had cut off his family's ties with other members of their family. Itachi had started disappearing for long lengths of time - doing schoolwork and volunteering because he was a prodigy - and all the people he'd known intimately as a toddler and small boy had vanished from his life. 

Fugaku had been the eldest of three brothers, a gap of six years between him and Madara, and eight years between him and Izuna. Madara and Izuna had been very close, and more leery of Fugaku than companionable. Especially near the end, it seemed like outright hostility was brewing. Only Itachi's cool stare had tamped it down. Looking back, he didn't know how an eight year old had that kind of power over adults. He remembered that Madara and his husband (who he'd never met) had a son, Obito. Izuna and his husband (same again) had a son named Shisui. Shisui was Itachi's best friend growing up, being closer in age than Obito, and a second brother to Sasuke. But they'd all vanished from his life after Fugaku forbid them from coming back over, and Sasuke hadn't even caught a glimpse of them in passing since. 

So, once he got a clear head again, it didn't make sense to him why he was so suddenly living with Madara, Obito and Rin. Or why Rin was apparently a doctor-nurse hybrid. Or why Madara was so gentle and careful when he remembered the man being aggressive and brash. Or why Obito kept leaving to take phone calls around the same time every day. 

He wished his mom was here. Then he at least wouldn't feel like he was in a house full of strangers every day. Strangers that treated him with a familial familiarity that they didn't actually possess. 

"Sasuke?"

He looked up from his book. "Yeah, Madara?"

"I want to start some physical training with you."

"Physical training?" He'd recovered very well from the skin-and-bones he'd been less than six months ago, and his skin was back to being naturally pale instead of deathly so. "Why?"

"It'll be good for you. Also help build up muscle. I was thinking we'd do it in martial arts."

"Are you even able to fight at your age?"

Madara's grin was wicked. "Sweetheart, you have no idea. It's called taijutsu, and I think you would enjoy it."

"Okay. Who'll be teaching me?"

"I'm going to." 

Suddenly, Sasuke wasn't so sure. 

Madara just smiled wider at him. "We start today."

* * *

The door closed gently behind him. The man hunched over the desk looked worn and tired beyond his meagre twenty years. 

"I just got the report from Obito." He said, walking up and plopping himself down in one of the chairs facing the desk. 

"Oh?" 

"Sasuke's pretty much back to full health. Rin gave him a pass, but she's keeping an eye on him. Madara's begun teaching him taijutsu, which he's excelling in, and begins to introduce kenjutsu soon."

"I take it they haven't told him yet?"

"You said not to."

The man sat back and sighed, heartfelt and from deep in his chest. "I'll have to tell him soon. Especially if he's coming here."

"I agree." He sat back, observing his cousin. "When are you bringing him over?"

"When he's at his most stable, I think. I have to get things in order here before he can come."

"I think you should give him some credit, at the very least. He's not stupid and no matter how well you manage to hide this, it's not going to be any better if he finds out on his own. You know what Sasuke's like. He's still bitter that you left him behind."

"I know. And I haven't thought of an excuse for that, either."

"Try the truth?"

"Shisui, you're a lawyer. You know better than to tell the whole truth."

"And you're a CEO with a clan resting on your shoulders.  _More_ secrets is the last thing you need. All it'll take is one half-asleep phone call in the middle of the night when you've forgotten he's there and he overhears you."

"We'll discuss this another time."

"I'll let you go with it now, but we  _will_ continue."

* * *

It took him eight months of living with Madara before he finally gathered the courage to ask the burning question. 

"Do you know where Itachi is?"

Madara glanced over at him. "Yeah."

"Can I see him?"

"When you're ready."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"He's got loose ends to tie up before he can bring you over to him."

"What? What's  _that_ mean now?"

"Sasuke, just- trust me. It's going to be soon. Your taijutsu is excellent, you're putting on mass and we've got you caught up on the school you've missed."

"Can you at least tell me where we'll be going?"

He hesitated. He knew where Itachi was right now. "He might choose a different location to live with you. My biggest concern is taking care of you right now. Focus on getting as strong as you can, then bother me about Itachi."

He was perfectly capable of doing both, but for now he let the subject drop. When Madara felt like being stubborn, he was stubborn. 

 

 


End file.
